updated 04:11 pm EDT, Thu April 24, 2014

[Update: possible pricetag revealed] According to court filings before the Northern District of California, Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe have made a settlement offer to conclude the antitrust investigation against the quartet, as expected earlier this month. The four tech companies were accused of conspiring to not poach each others' vital employees to prevent escalating salaries and employee demands, but protested the limiting advancement opportunities and salaries was not its intention.

None of the companies involved have any comment as of yet. One of the attorneys for the plaintiffs called the deal "an excellent resolution" in an statement. The terms of the deal have not been discussed.

A set of emails between Google's Sergey Brin and Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently emerged, proving that those two companies agreed informally not to hire people away from each other beginning in 2005. A Google policy document suggests an even wider effort in Silicon Valley, encompassing Microsoft, Comcast, Oracle, and others. At stake in the trial was up to $9 billion between the four companies, with up to $90,000 paid per employee affected.

Update: Longtime court reporter Dan Levine is citing unnamed sources as saying the four companies have agreed to pay $324 million to settle the claims.Any deal on the table still faces judicial review. Judge Lucy Koh, of Apple versus Samsung fame, will evaluate the pact on May 27.